Peeling Back The Layers
by TVHollywoodDiva
Summary: Rachel Berry spends the summer in New York. When a new school year begins people start noticing horrible changes in her?
1. Chapter 1

Peeling Back The Layers

Chapter 1

Summary Rachel Berry spends the summer in New York. When a new school year begins people start noticing horrible changes in her?

Rating: Teen

Couples: Rachel Berry/ Jesse St. James (romance) Rachel/Quinn/Kurt (friendship)

A/N: Even though this sounds similar to my other glee story Shattering Secrets it will be different I started writing this before that one. I am looking for a co-author as well so personal message me if you are interested.

Rachel Barbara Berry pulled the sleeves of her sweatshirt as she looked at the sign for William McKinley High School. She felt as if it was taunting her, she took a big breath and pushed the heavy wooden door open. Truthfully, she was hoping that she could just sink into the background of student body this year. She felt like she was no longer the person she once was, she did not want to draw attention to herself. She did not feel self-confident any longer.

Rachel stayed as close to the edge of the hallway as possible as she headed to her locker, as she stood in front of her locker and turn the lock grape slushy came pouring down over her sweatshirt. The shock of the cold icy sticky sugary liquid dripping down her shirt and chills up the spine. She was not even school more than 10 minutes and she had already been slushy.

If this had happened any other time, she would have been prepared with her slushy survival kit. However, this was not like normal the shock of cold and ice sent her mind reeling, back to a cold dark alley.

_*Flashback*_

_She was taking the New York City subway from 43rd and James to Times Square to go see Wicked at Gershwin Theater. Her fathers had given her a ticket for an 18th birthday along with non-expenses paid trip to New York without them. She was beyond excited to see one of the plays she dreamed of being in one day._

_As she entered the Times Square station she thought she felt someone watching her this feeling of dread came over her she got off the train as fast as she could , without turning to see if someone was actually following her. When she reached the top of the steps she took a deep breath hoping that it was just a figment of her imagination. As she turned the corner, to William and James the feeling of dread once again came over her she sped up the pace trying to find safety as fast as possible but within 30 seconds a hand came over her mouth as she tried the scream and began pulling her into a dark alleyway._

_She felt the person put a piece of cloth in her mouth after removing his hand so that she would not make a sound, he bound her hands behind her back and she was unable to resist what was about to happen._

_Her eyes widened in terror should try to scream once again that the gang prohibited her. She could see this man eyes dark with lust she knew what was coming next for she did what she thought she could do by shutting down her conscience while she was horribly taken advantage of and violated ._

_*End of flashback*_


	2. Author's note

Hi to all my readers,

I am looking for a co-author and beta for this story if you are interested in either please personal message me.

Kelli


	3. Chapter 2

author's note: I hope you enjoy this chapter if you have any ideas to improve the story please let me know. Also I do not own the glee characters Ryan Murphy does I am just borrowing them. Also I am still looking for a co-author and a beta reader if anybody is interested please PM me. Kelli

Peeling Back The Layers

Chapter 2

Quinn saw the slushy attack as she was walking down the hall in her newly reclaimed Cheerios uniform. She had worked hard after the birth of Beth to claim her old life back. As she watched she saw Rachel freeze up and get a lost look in her eyes as if she was no longer in the present and that scared her as soon as the person that initiated the attack walked off she approached Rachel. She reached out and touched Rachel 's shoulder and she felt her flinch and try to shake off the contact before collapsing on the floor and curling into a fetal position.

Quinn was in shock at Rachel's reaction but to not draw any further attention to her she sat on the floor next to her hoping that she would snap out of it. Rachel began to cry gut wrenching sobs that was shaking her little body. Quinn did what she thought was best she began rubbing slow circles on Rachel's back to get her to calm down.

"Shhh Rachel it's okay you're okay take slow deep breath for me okay."

At some point of Quinn trying to calm her down Rachel's head had ended up in Quinn's lap. Truthfully she didn't mind she was just glad that Rachel was calming herself down and coming out of the state she went to.

"Hey Rachel why don't we go get you cleaned up."

Rachel knew she couldn't trust her voice right now so she just nodded slowly in Quinn's lap. Quinn slowly helped her up as grape corn syrup dripped off her sweatshirt. Quinn led her to the closest girls restroom just before the bell rang to start the school day.

Rachel stood in the center of the bathroom just staring at herself in the full-length mirror. Her makeup was running you could see the bruise is that had yet to fade show right through her streaky makeup. At the sight of what she was so hard to hide from she started to cry again. Without thinking Quinn wrapped Rachel in her arms and once again waited for her to calm down.

"Shhhh Rachel it's okay we can reapply makeup lets just get you cleaned up."

Rachel let her begin the slow process of cleaning her up. Quinn slowly lifted Rachel's shirt and gasped at what she saw. Rachel's stomach was covered in yellow, green, blue, and purple-black bruises Quinn slowly lowered her sweatshirt and stepped away in shock.

"What happened to you Rachel?"

Rachel shrank away in shame she felt exposed but she couldn't bring herself to speak about the horrible night in the city of her dreams. Quinn recovered quickly and gave Rachel a small smile and Rachel realized she couldn't hide what had happened and Quinn could figure it out by her reaction.

Quinn's heart broke for her no girl deserved to go through what Rachel was. She quickly finished helping her to clean up without saying a word after that Quinn and Rachel left the bathroom with a new understanding with each other.

Quinn watched Rachel the rest of the day making sure she wasn't the target of any more harassment without Rachel really telling her what had happened Quinn had come to a conclusion on her own that left her with a resolve that Rachel needed a friend more than ever now and she was going to be what Rachel needed no matter what the student body thought.

Truthfully, she had wanted to be closer with Rachel ever since she had offered her friendship during babygate happened . She knew that it was going to take hard work to get Rachel to trust her but she was going to prove to her that she had changed.


	4. Chapter 3

Peeling Back The Layers

Chapter 3

Author's Note: I want to thank Giuliette Rose for being my co-author. She wrote this chapter and I think is really good.

Jesse's POV:

_Rachel Barbra Berry._

When he saw her, she was nothing like her normal self. She wasn't wearing her usual animal-printed sweaters, nor was she wearing her typical plaid skirts.

No. She was wearing a gray sweatshirt, one that she had bought on—to his knowledge—her most recent trip to the City, a pair of black leggings, and her Uggs. At one glance, one might deem her as comfy.

Jesse knew better.

He knew every singe body motion was restrained and terrified. He saw as she picked up her physics textbook—shaking with fear and exhaustion.

Quinn was near her. Her body had for the most part snapped back to its previous shape and her silky blonde hair was tied back into a ponytail. She was being remarkably civil toward Rachel, something Jesse had never seen. Had they become friends in the past few months? Had they suddenly forgotten that Rachel had spilled Quinn's secret to Finn?

In all fairness—Jesse didn't care. As long as she wasn't trying to hurt Rachel or to get back at her, he was okay.

It was Quinn that saw him first. Her eyeliner clad eyes widened as she watched him approach. Rachel looked her confused before she turned around and saw the young man draw near.

She didn't say anything; she just stood there drinking in the masculine form in front of her.

The warning bell went off, and Rachel hurried off to her physics class. Quinn, however, stayed right were she was.

Jesse looked as if he was about to run after her before Quinn placed a hand on his chest. The gesture set him off slightly, but he bounced back quickly.

"Hold it right there, St. James. What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Don't you have to get to class?" He retorted.

"Free period, and you didn't answer my question." Her soft, soulful voice was quite forceful.

"What happened to Rachel?"

"She's been traumatized."

"By whom? I'll kill the bastard."

"I don't know." Said Quinn; clearly skeptical about the way that Jesse was talking. "But you're one to talk, after what you did last year."

"C'mon, I'll buy you lunch. I can explain everything there."

"Junior's lunch period isn't until next period."

"But you have a free. C'mon, I'll take you to breadsticks. Nobody has to see you."

"Fine, Jesse. But I need to be back for Rachel's lunch. We always sit together."

"You can explain some things too."

The pair left the school grounds and in minutes they pulled up in front of Breadsticks. Jesse hadn't been there in about a year. He couldn't bare being back without Rachel. This had always been their choice of dining; being here alone would have brought back too many good memories. But since he was here to talk about Rachel, it didn't make much of a difference. They were seated at a table in the corner of the room. Quinn shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

"So," she began. "Why are you back?"

"I failed out." His blunt response wasn't expected. He'd always seemed so much smarter than Finn. He always used big words and understood what older people were saying. She shook her head with a quick motion as if to shake what he said from her mind.

"What?"

"I failed out." There it was again.

"How?"

"My mind was somewhere else. Or, should I say, my mind was on _someone_ else."

Quinn nodded.

"I still don't understand how you could flunk out."

"I was depressed. I didn't show up to a lot of classes and I stopped doing homework. I spoke with the dean a lot. He said that if I didn't start to pick up the pieces, I would have to repeat the semester. So, I made everything easier. I left."

"So you didn't flunk out. You just quit."

"I could have flunked out. I knew that I needed to straighten things out with Rachel, and I knew that if I didn't, then I wouldn't be able to actually get any work done. I'm just going to go to community college here. I can live with my uncle and my cousin while I'm here."

"But Jesse," Quinn started. "Did you really think that coming back here was a good idea? Did you honestly think that you could waltz back into Ohio and Rachel would fall back into your arms?"

"No, I didn't." It was the right answer, but even though it came from his mouth, he hoped that it wasn't true. Of course he wanted Rachel to love him again! That was no doubt his motive for his homecoming. But he also knew that there would be some sense of actually _winning_ her back.

"No, I didn't." It was the right answer, but even though it came from his mouth, he wished that it wasn't true. Of course he wanted Rachel to love him again! That was no doubt his motive for his homecoming. But he also knew that there would be some sense of actually _winning_ her back. But now, in her clear state of anguish, he needed her trust more than anything. He wanted more than anything to make the pain and the hurt go away.

"She's hurt, scared, and I doubt that she'll trust anyone really for a while, let alone you."

"I just can't believe I would do that, you know?"

Quinn just sat there, waiting to hear what he had to say about his huge mistake last year.

"Frankly, I don't know why I did it. I know that I was hurt about what she did to me, but she'd apologized and we'd made up. I wanted to win…I thought she would understand. I thought she would understand that the competition was too important for me to give up. I needed that last national title or else I wouldn't get my scholarship. I wouldn't have gotten back on the team if I hadn't done that to her. I guess that I assumed that I would end up getting her back after we won. I never considered—never wanted to consider the alternative. The one where she wouldn't trust me again."

"Well," Quinn said once he had finished his monologue. "_I_ trust you. I just don't know if she will. That was horrible what you did to her. Really, terrible. But she loved you, maybe she still does. I don't know. But if you really care about her, make her feel comfortable. Make the pain go away—try to at least." Her cold hand rested on his warm ones.

"I don't want to fuck it up again." He whispered.

"I know. But if you really care this much about her, take the risk. Take the risk and make sure you never do anything to hurt her. Make sure that she always feels safe and happy. Make sure that she's loved."

Jesse nodded and looked down at his watch.

"We should go if you want to be back for Rachel's lunch period."

As they drove, Quinn started to tell Jesse how she had befriended Rachel.

"I just saw her get slushied. I saw how unusually upset she was. I took her to the bathroom and I saw something I hoped never to see on anyone. I made sure that she wasn't harassed for the rest of the day. That was yesterday. She's so afraid. Afraid of every little sound…every little movement. She's hurt and terrified and I just don't know what to do. I'm scared too, Jesse."

Tears welled up in the pretty girl's eyes before they leaked down her pale cheeks.

He held grasped Quinn's shaking hand and looked into her eyes.

"It'll be fine. We'll _all_ be fine. I promise."

"Don't make promises you can't keep." She retorted as she wiped the moisture from her green eyes and sniffled.

"No. I shouldn't. But I can make the promise that I will try my very best to make her happy and safe and comfortable and above all else, make her feel loved. She's been traumatized, but plenty of people have PTSD. We can do our best. That's our promise. Now, get out of the car and give me a hug."

They opened the doors to his Range Rover and stepped out into the school's parking lot.

He walked over to the blonde girl and gave her a tight squeeze. She was taller than Rachel, and fit more awkwardly into his hug than she did, but nonetheless, it was worth the effort.

"I'm going to go and sit with Rachel now. I think it's better if I go alone. I don't know if she'll say anything to me if you're there. I'm sorry. I'll try to talk to her about you. We'll build up her trust and make sure she's comfortable. I'll talk to you later. Lets trade numbers, and I'll text you later."

"Bye, Quinn."

"Bye, Jesse. Thanks for lunch. It was nice talking to you."

"You too. You too."

Jesse re-entered his car, but he couldn't make his hands turn the key and drive away. All he could do was sit in his car in silence until his breathing became normal again.


	5. Chapter 4

Peeling back the layers

Chapter 4

Jesse's Point Of View:

Jesse pulled up to McKinley the next morning after his conversation with Quinn he needed a way to get close to Rachel so that he could regain our trust and love. He had come up with the perfect plan he was going to ask Mr. Shuster if he needed a co director for the glee club he knew he could help The New Directions gained their first national title.

He knew he would not be trusted by everyone at night he would have to earn their trust and respect. He was willing to do anything to protect Rachel his conversation with Quinn still at the forefront of his mind. He got out of his Range Rover and walked up to the front steps of the school as he opened the door and stepped into the hallway he was hit by memories of himself and Rachel in happier times.

He shook his head to clear his mind and walked to the choir room and took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

Mr. Shuster was working on a musical arrangement when he heard a knock he turned and was shocked at who was there.

"Jessie St. James what can I do for you?"

"Can I come in?"

"Sure."

"I was wondering if you needed a co director for the glee club?"

Mr. Shuster looked at him shocked.

"I thought you were at UCLA."

"I was but I flunked out turns out you have to go to class to get credit I was so used to having my grades excused to focus on Vocal Adrenaline I guess."

"I see."

"So I left before I was forced to I guess."

"So now you want to coach the New Directions."

"Mr. Shuster I think it could really help you gain the national title that your team deserves."

"Jesse thank you for your offer but do you really think everyone will just forget your history here?"

"I was hoping we could get past it yes and leave it there."

"What about Rachel? she was really her when you left."

"Truthfully ritual as part of the reason I want to do this to gain her trust in love again."

Mr. Shuster saw in Jesse's eye's that he loved Rachel still but why is committed to also truly helping the glee club. He finally gave in to Jesse's idea.

"Okay Jesse I will give you a chance as co director but promise me you will not Rachel again."

"I promise Mr. Shuster."

"Good and call me Will since this means we will be working together."

Just the left and felt good that his plan is working so far he just needed Rachel to forgive him. He was headed back to his car when he heard a voice yelling.

Jesse rounded the corner and what he saw broken heart as they are starred Dave Karofsky yelling at Rachel she was cowering in the corner trying to shrink away from him.

"Freak I'm talking to you."

Finn was coming down the hallway and saw what was going on and at that moment stepped in front of Rachel in a protective stance.

"Leave her alone Dave."

"What are you doing Hudson protecting the glee freaks?"

"She's my friend and teammate I'm a member of glee does that make me a freak too?"

Dave stepped further toward Rachel and she shrank back further.

"I said back off Karofsky ."

Rachel was looking around wildly trying to find an escape she spotted Jesse and with the adrenaline was pumping through her body she took off for her safe haven. She reached him and he opened his arms and as if it was instinctual he wrapped his arms around her and they fit perfectly like no time had passed at all.


	6. Chapter 5

Peeling Back The Layers

Chapter 5

Author's Note: I want to say Thank You For all The Story Alerts. I was also wondering if you could also review Giuliette and I would love your feedback.

As Rachel grasped Jesse's torso tightly, he rubbed circles on her back at an attempt to pacify her.

He bit his lip as not to yell and scare the already terrified teenager in his arms. She clung to him, her new falling tears wetting his gray v-neck.

"You bastard." He called out to Karofsky, unable to hold it in any longer. Letting Rachel go, he walked up to the beefy football player, and punched him on the cheek; flesh hitting flesh with a satisfying crack.

"Jesse, please. Take me out of here." Rachel's small voice was shaky, terrified, and filled with tears.

Before the stunned jock could react, Jesse led Rachel out of the school building.

Upon reaching the parking lot, she thrust herself once more into his arms, whispering his name non-stop.

"Jesse—Jesse—Jesse…"

"I'm here."

"What'll I do?"

"What do you mean, Rachel? What do you mean?"

"I'm pregnant."

The two words set him off. Pregnant? All this time…he'd just assumed that she had been beaten up. He never considered…that…

He brought her closer to him so that his chin rested on the top of her head.

"But…who?" Was it somebody that she knew? Perhaps Karofsky, which made her more uncomfortable to be near him.

She shook her head.

"I don't know." She managed to croak out before her tears cut her off. "Jesse."

"Do your fathers know?"

Once again, she shook her head. She buried her face deeper into his warm chest, where she could hear his heart beating rapidly.

"I can't tell them, Jesse. I can't face them."

"We'll do it together."

"No. I can't."

"Do you want me to?"

With her face still hidden by his chest, she nodded slowly.

"Okay."

When he drove her home, he let her sneak up into her bedroom while he went to go and talk to her fathers.

"Excuse me, sir."

"Jesse!" Said Hiram Berry, as he adjusted his black-framed glasses. "I haven't seen you in a long time, son. What brings you back to Ohio?"

"Your daughter." He said, not caring enough to lie. Hiram was being uncharacteristically nice to someone who had crushed an egg on their daughter's head a year before.

"She said the reason that you broke up was because you moved away. With you back, does that mean that you're back together?"

Jesse pondered her father's statement. Rachel had lied to her fathers about the way that they broke up to spare his reputation with them.

"Um, no, not yet. I actually have something really important to discuss with you. Is your partner here?"

"No," said Hiram skeptically. "He's away on business. Would you mind telling me?"

"Of course, sir. Can you sit down?"

The two men sat down at the kitchen table, and Jesse looked down at his hands.

"This does involve Rachel, not me. She asked me to do this."

"Jesse, tell me." Hiram's voice was loud, but not threatening.

"Rachel was raped. I don't know when and I don't know by whom."

Hiram was in a state of shock. No words escaped his mouth, but tears threatened to overflow.

"That's not all, sir. She's pregnant."

Hiram bolted out of the room, leaving Jesse behind. Jesse followed Mr. Berry up the stairs and into his daughter's room.

Hiram scooped up his trembling daughter in his arms, humming to her and quieting her tears.

When he got up, Jesse took his place. Rachel practically melted in his warm arms.

"Your safe now, Rachel. You're safe." He whispered into her ear.


	7. Chapter 6

Peeling Back The Layers  
Chapter 6

Rachel cried for a little while longer then just laid in Jesse's arms trying to wrap her mind around everything that had happened. Her mind kept going in one continuous loop and her thoughts were running wild. Jesse was back and she was in his arms and for the first time in a long time she felt safe and protected. Rachel turned and looked at Jesse in what you saw gave her the strength to confront the event that she was trying so hard to forget.

Rachel took a deep breath and snuggled into Jesse's side deeper before speaking.

"I was on my way to see Wicked but when I entered the subway I felt like someone was following me I looked back but didn't see anyone so I went on my way thinking it was my mind playing tricks on me."

Jesse could feel her start to tense up so he began rubbing her back in slow circles.

"Shhh baby it's okay to take your time I'm not going anywhere."

Rachel started to regain her composure and began to talk again.

"I was on the subway stairs and didn't look behind me and I guess there was someone following me I remember him coming up behind me and grabbing me around the waist and pulling me down the stairs and putting a cloth soaked in something that had the power to make me unconscious."

Jessie was trying to process the information that he was just head and stem the anger that was inside him and protect Rachel at the same time.

"The next thing I remember was waking up in a play ground and seeing blood dripping down my legs and screaming . I stayed on the ground and after a while I got up enough strength to get up and slowly walk back to my hotel room and when I got there I just collapsed on the bed and sobbed.

After Rachel's confession of the events she broke down completely and just let Jesse be her protector.


	8. Chapter 7

Peeling back the Layers

Chapter 7

Morning sickness had soon subsided and her stomach had swelled slightly. People will know soon, she thought.

She lay on her bed, with Jesse, who was gently caressing her stomach.

"How far along are you?"

She swallowed, "Four months. People will know, Jesse. People will start asking questions."

"What're you going to tell them?"

"I was thinking—will you pose as the father for five months?"

"Rachel—"

"I know that it's a lot to ask, but I really can't tell people what happened. I will tell the adoptive parents."

"And that's what you've decided? To adopt?"

Rachel nodded.

"Jesse…if it were in another situation I probably would keep it. I don't want a child with me as a reminder of what happened. A reminder of how I was abused and taken advantage of. No. I couldn't bear it. Let the child be happy with parents who don't care about the physical reminder."

"Rachel, I understand, and if you really want me to, then of course I'll do this for you."

"Thanks, Jesse!" she exclaimed as she curled into his embrace.

The next day, Quinn came up to her.

"Rachel—your shirt."

The one she had chosen for the day was tight fitting. It showed off the outer curve of her growing stomach. She had chosen it on purpose, to make it more obvious—to maybe have more people guess rather than have her explain it. She had been wearing a big sweatshirt all day, but took it off for glee.

"Yeah."

"Was it from—"

Again she confirmed.

"But it's a secret."

"It won't be for long. You're already showing!"

"No," interrupted Rachel. "I mean how I got pregnant is a secret. We're telling people that it was Jesse. That it was consensual."

"But don't you think that people will feel bad for you, and they will sympathize with you if you tell them the truth?"

"But this wasn't a ploy to become everybody's pity party! This is serious, and I don't want to seem even more vulnerable than I already am."

"I get it, Rachel. I know what you'll be going through for the next—five months, is it? you'll need me by your side."

"Thanks, Quinn." The two linked arms and walked to the choir room for glee.

Rachel stood in front of the room and looked into the crowd of teenagers who were staring at her like she had risen from the dead.

"No fucking way." Said Santana, who received an annoyed look from Will, who did not appreciate language like that. "Rachel Berry got knocked up the first time that she had sex?"

"Hey, I got pregnant the first time that I had sex!" retorted Quinn. "And how do you know that this is the result of her first time?"

"Because it's Rachel fucking Berry. The queen of chastity! There's no way that she's slept with a guy before this."

Finn looked mortified. Rachel had slept with somebody before him? Sure he lost his virginity months ago, but that didn't give her the right to lose hers, did it?

"Who's the baby-daddy?" asked Mercedes.

Rachel looked over at Quinn, who nodded reassuringly.

"Jesse St. James."

The New Directions looked shocked at Rachel's declaration and Finn was the first to speak.

"I can't believe that you're doing this to me! sleeping with him!" Rachel looks at him shocked.

"We're not going out! There's nothing that you can say that could stop me from sleeping with him. I love him."

All the sudden Rachel notes that Quinn is getting really pale and that she realize what Rachel said in her declaration she genuinely meant.

Finn decided to voice his unwelcome opinion again.

"If he felt the same way about you, then why isn't he here?"

"I don't have to take this I'm leaving."

Rachel turns and rushes out of the choir room and in her haste going down the hallway she slams into none other then Dave Karofsky.

" Watch where your going freak."

Karofsky leers at her looking her up and down when he see's the slight swell of her stomach he mutters "slut"and walks off down the hallway. What Rachel saw was that Finn watched the whole confrontation and didn't step in to help her. Rachel turns around and scowls at him and stomps off with her cell phone to her ear asking Jesse to pick her up.


	9. Chapter 8

Peeling Back The Layers

Chapter 8

After her confession to the glee club, Rachel went outside to wait on the steps for Jesse. She was trying to process how the glee club reacted to her head, but she just couldn't. She thought they were her friends, but how wrong she was. They treated her as if she were pond scum for getting pregnant. If they had known the truth about how the baby inside her was conceived, would they have treated her any differently? Probably, and they would be pittying her and trying to comfort her.

But instead of telling the truth, she went with a lie, and they had all shown their true colors. They were unsupportive and judgmental. She realized though, that she did have one true friend. Quinn. She loved Jesse too, and it was all she really needed to get through the next five months. Finally, Jesse arrived in his black Range Rover and Rachel hopped in quickly and off they went.

They'd been discussing adoption and were on their way to meet their first potential family. Rachel wasn't sure that this was what she wanted to be doing at this point, but understanding that it needed to be done, she went with it. They drove up in front of a giant white house-the red shingles contrasting with the pristine white paint. They walked up the stone path, and went to knock on the door. A young woman answered the door.

"You must be Rachel and Jesse! Come in, I'm Rebecca Lydell."

"Hi Mrs. Lydell. Yes, I'm Rachel and this is Jesse."

They sat down on a white suede couch, facing Rebecca and a giant window, looking into a giant yard, and a small lake, that looked almost gray on the cloudy day.

"As you know," Began Rachel. "I did not have sex consensually, but rather on my past trip to New York, I was raped. I have no clue who the father is, or who the father could be, which is why I've opted this route. I want the baby to have parents who love him or her, and I don't wish for them to grow up with so much hate in their heart."

Mrs. Lydell looked up at Rachel with her sea-foam green eyes. Her long blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and she was wearing a white button-down shirt, with almost black jeans. She was wearing nude pumps, and she was rolling her ankle back and forth.

"Rachel, my husband and I have been trying for 5 years to have a child. 5 long years. Our doctor kept telling us that we're most likely never going to be able to conceive a child. We've accepted that. We're turning 30 this year. That's still young, but we'd rather not wait any longer, because it could take years for people to adopt! We want to provide a better life for your child-not that you wouldn't be an amazing mother, but for the reasons that you just mentioned. We've always been very adamant about adopting from rape victims...don't ask why, because I don't know, but we have."

"Thank you, Mrs. Lydell, really."

Jesse was rubbing Rachel's back in slow circles, listening attentively to everything that she was saying. He even let a few stray tears run down subtly from his eyes.

The door slammed.

"You get to meet my husband!" Said Rebecca, jumping up to introduce the attractive man that entered the beautiful living room.

His defined chin was bare, with just a hint of 5:00 shadow, he was loosening his purple tie as he shook hands with Rachel and Jesse before sitting down next to his wife.

Rebecca filled Jack Lydell in on what they were talking about.

"Mr. and Mrs. Lydell," she began, ready to get down to business. "I want to ask you if you'd like this to be a closed adoption."

"Well, we haven't _really_ thought about it." Said Jack.

"Well, _I_ have." She continued. "I have two fathers, I was conceived via surrogate, and I didn't meet my mother until I was 16, when she illegally reached out to me with the help of my boyfriend. I don't want to have to go out of my way, and against your will if I want to see the progression of my child."

"We were thinking more on the lines of a closed adoption...but we can make a deal. We can send you a picture once a month then when the child is old enough, a monthly video, and when the child is ready, we will allow them to come to you, not the other way around." Said Rebecca.

Rachel nodded. It was better-much better-than the situation with her own mother.

"Another thing...promise to enroll my child in singing and dance lessons the second that they can walk and talk."


End file.
